3/21/97

ATHENS, Ohio -- A memorial service for Claude R. Sowle ("SOLE"), president of Ohio University from 1969 to 1974, will be held at 4 p.m. April 10 in Galbreath Chapel on campus.

A number of people from the Sowle era will speak during the service. They include: Athens attorney, Joseph B.Yanity, Jr.; University Trustee Thomas Hodson, who was editor of the Ohio University Post during part of Sowle's tenure; Robert Mahn, who was assistant to the president; Peg Black, who was director of the unive rsity public information office; John Burns, legal affairs director; Mike Doyle, a former student who assisted in the president's residence; and Distinguished Professor of Botany Norman S. Cohn. President Robert Glidden also will speak on the Sowle presidency.

Sowle, the university's 16th president, died unexpectedly March 2 in Puerto Rico, while on an accreditation inspection for the American Bar Association. He was 68.

Sowle had been dean and professor of law at the University of Cincinnati from 1965-69 when he was chosen to succeed Vernon Alden as Ohio University president. His tenure as president coincided with the height of campus disorders over the Vietnam War at Ohio University, throughout the state, and nationwide.

Nevertheless, Sowle was known for his open style of administration, hosting call-in radio shows and regular question-and-answer sessions in residence halls. During his presidency, an equal opportunities office was created on campus.

Sowle left to become a law professor at Ohio State University from 1974 to 1982. He served as dean of the University of Miami (Fla.) School of Law from 1982 to 1986, and remained a professor of law there until his death.